Diagnosis to now

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Enjoying Tasmania and a birthday celebration.

The last 2 days have been just magical for both of us! Yesterday was the first day that we have not had sun - it was a wet and cold day. We decided to go for a short drive to Beauty Point (20 mins away) on the Tamar River. A pitstop at Platypus World to have a coffee/green tea and say hello to friends there. We also went on the tour of the platypus and echnida house where our wonderful tour guide Dan gave us a very comprehensive and informative talk while showing us the platypus and echidnas in daylight and undercover. We watched both feeding and playing. Highly recommended if you ever get to Tasmania.
http://www.platypushouse.com.au/

The Platypus

Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Beautiful, majestic, mysterious and darn right odd are
possible descriptions of the platypus. Here is an animal whose general
structure puts it somewhere on a level with reptiles and birds and at
the same time suggests a closer relationship to those animals we call
mammals which have fur coats, four legs and produce milk to feed their
babies.
The platypus is a highly specialised animal. What specialised
adaptations has nature grafted onto this aquatic creature? It certainly
has not developed the streamlines of dolphins or seals but has enormous,
webbed front feet and a flattened tail. It has a quiet and leisurely
way of swimming which like the rest of the animal has to be seen to be
believed.
On land, the platypus is shuffling and sinuous. The feet are very
useful and can be used for a variety of purposes, apart from walking on,
including grasping an enemy in order to inject him with venom, mating,
preening, and digging. Only at Platypus House are you likely to see any
of these activities because our animals are active throughout the day.
Of course the platypus does not have a duck’s beak! You would only
think this to be the case if you were to look at photographs or
drawings. The snout or bill of a platypus is soft, moist, flexible and
extremely sensitive. Furthermore, there are no sensory whiskers like
those seen on a dog or cat. Inside the mouth there are no teeth once the
animal is a few months old – the teeth fall out and are replaced by
horny plates with which to grind the food and ridges to hold onto
slippery morsels. After watching the platypuses at Platypus House you
will soon realize just how clever the animals are at catching their
prey; even large freshwater crayfish can be quickly disposed of.

We actually have a wild echnida that lives at our place - every now and again he runs up our front veranda and scuttles into the garden then down to the dam area where he hides and hunts for ants.

Today is Keith's birthday. We have had the best day and the nicest part of it is that I am still here to celebrate with him in style! Morning tea at Grindelwald (Swiss Village) and a walk around Lake Louise then lunch at the beautiful Gorge Restaurant, Cataract Gorge, Launceston overlooking the gorge, suspension bridge and chairlift.